Hung ceilings normally comprise a plurality of square or rectangular ceiling tiles supported by a plurality of parallel flanged beams, referred to in the art as "T-bars" and "Z-bars", which are in turn suspended below the ceiling of the room. Each of the tiles has a set of peripheral edge grooves defined in its transverse and side edges. Each of the flanged supporting beams has a lower horizontal supporting flange connected along the length of the lower edge of a vertically oriented web. Each of the beams also includes a top flange connected along the length of the upper edge of the web to serve as an attachment point for a plurality of hangers that are in turn connected to the ceiling of the room. The ceiling tiles are arranged in rows between the supporting beams with the the transverse edges of the tiles in a close abutting relationship and with the supporting flanges engaged within the peripheral edge grooves of the tiles located along the opposite side edges of the tiles. Adjoining tiles, in each row, are further connected to one another by a plurality of strip-like mounting splines that simultaneously extend through the peripheral edge grooves of the tiles located at the adjacent abutting transverse edges of the tiles.
Very often, critical building fixtures, such as electrical junctions and air-conditioning ducts are located in the space between the ceiling of the room and the hung ceiling. In order to access such building fixtures, one of the ceiling tiles is modified to form an access tile. The modification to the ceiling tile, to form the access tile, is performed by cutting or breaking a pair of upper portions of the tile that partially form the peripheral edge grooves located along the side edges of the tile so that the access tile is essentially hinged along one of its transverse edges to an adjoining ceiling tile by a mounting spline. Another upper portion of the tile, adjacent the other transverse edge of the tile, is removed to form a recessed portion and a groove segment, contiguous with one another, from the peripheral edge groove located at the other transverse edge of the tile.
The access tile is releasably connected along its other transverse edge to another ceiling tile by the provision of an access spline. The access spline comprises a strip-like body member that has a length, width and thickness such that, in an unlatched position, the access spline is located within the peripheral edge groove of the other adjoining tile and the recessed portion to permit the access tile to be rotated about the mounting spline so as to be either flush with the visible underside of the hung ceiling or in an open position in which the other transverse edge of the access tile is downwardly spaced from the other adjoining ceiling tile. Alternatively, when the access tile is flush with the visible underside of the ceiling, the access spline may be slid to a latched position in which the access spline is located within the groove segment and the peripheral edge groove to connect the access tile and other adjoining ceiling tile to one another.
When the access spline is in latched position, it is difficult to locate the access tile after installation. Moreover, it is difficult to move the access spline between its latched and unlatched positions because, as mentioned above, the transverse edges of the access and ceiling tiles are in a close abutting relationship. As a result, a razor blade is generally employed to move the access spline between its latched and unlatched position. As can be appreciated, this is particularly dangerous for a workman because the razor blade can break or cut the workman. Lastly, even when the access spline is finally moved to its unlatched position and the access tile is rotated into its open position, the transverse edges of the access tile and the other adjoining ceiling tiles may crumble because of their close proximity, thus damaging the access tile and the other ceiling tile.
In order to alleviate the difficulties in positioning the access spline, Moomey U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,413, provides an access spline which is slotted to receive a notched tool that is configured to extend into the slots of the access spline. However, once the access tile is in place and the access spline of Moomey is in the latched position, the same difficulties remain in locating the access tile in the first instance.
Gazerro, U.S. Pat. No. 3,359,695, provides a mechanism that is somewhat different than an access spline, for releasably attaching and hinging an access tile to a hung ceiling. In Gazerro, the access tile is formed by removing upper portions of the transverse edges of the ceiling tile and installing a pair of hinge-like mechanisms to the peripheral edge grooves located along the sides of the tile. The rear portion of the hinge mechanism is connected between the upper and lower flanges of one of the support beams and the front of the hinge mechanism has a pair of depending toggles that extend between adjoining tiles to point out the access tile. The depending toggles move leaf-like sections of the hinge mechanism in and out of contact with the flange of an adjacent support beam to respectively connect and release the access tile from the ceiling.
Although Gazerro accurately points out the access tile by the provision of the depending toggles, it is necessarily more expensive than the slotted access spline of Moomey However, if a toggle were simply attached to a single access spline of Moomey in place of the slots and tool disclosed in Moomey one would still be at a loss to determine which of the tiles, located on either side of the toggle, was the access tile and which tile was the other adjoining ceiling tile. In the prior art, the disadvantage of not knowing the difference between the access tile and the adjoining tile is that often one tries to dislodge the adjoining tile instead of the access tile which results in damage to both tiles.
The present invention solves this problem by fabricating the the body member of the access spline from a strip of flexible material The strip has a central slot and, preferably a pair or depending toggle members which are connected to the access spline opposite one another and adjacent the slot. The toggles allow the access spline to be slid between its latched and unlatched positions through manipulation of the toggles. Additionally, when the access spline is in the unlatched position, the toggle members may be alternately downwardly drawn to deform an edge of the access tile and to thereby point out the access tile relative to the other adjoining ceiling tile. Moreover, when the access spline is in the unlatched position, the toggle members may be used to impart a rocking motion to the access spline in order to dislodge the access tile without damage to the abutting edges of the access tile and the other adjoining ceiling tile.